Nine familial exterminations

The nine familial exterminations or nine kinship exterminations (simplified Chinese: 株连九族; traditional Chinese: 株連九族; pinyin: zhū lián jiǔ zú; literally: "guilt by association of nine of a group/clan"; also known as zú zhū (族誅), literally "family execution" and miè zú (灭族/滅族), literally "family extermination" or "execution of nine relations") was the most serious punishment for a capital offense in Ancient China.[1][2][3] Typically associated with offenses such as treason, the punishment involved the execution of all relatives of an individual, which were categorized into nine groups. The occurrence of this punishment was somewhat rare, with relatively few sentences recorded throughout history. There were also variants of the punishment found in ancient Korea[4][5][6] and Vietnam (the most prominent example being the family of Nguyễn Trãi).[7]

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The punishment by nine exterminations is usually associated with the tyrannical rulers throughout Chinese history who were prone to use inhumane methods of asserting control (compare with slow slicing, or "death by ten thousand cuts"). The first written account of the concept is in the Classic of History, a historical account of the Shang (1600 BC – 1046 BC) and Zhou (1045 BC – 256 BC) Dynasties, where it is recorded that prior to a military battle, officers would threaten their subordinates that they would exterminate their families if they refused to obey orders.[8]

From the Spring and Autumn period (770BC–403BC), there are records of exterminations of "three tribes"[2] (Chinese: 三族, see section below). A notable case where under the State of Qin, lawmaker Shang Yang's entire family was killed by order of King Huiwen of Qin,[9] while he himself was sentenced to death in 338 BC by being fastened to four chariots and pulled apart, an ironic occurrence as it was Shang Yang who formulated such a punishment into Qin law in the first place, being commonly recorded as a lawmaker who used excessive punishments.[10][11]

During the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 207 BC), punishments became even more rigorous under the first emperor of the unified China state, Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC). In order to uphold his rule, strict laws were enforced,[12] where deception, libel and the study of books (see Burning of books and burying of scholars) became punishable by familial extermination.[1] This increase in tyranny only helped to speed up the overthrow of the Qin Dynasty.[8] The Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), although it inherited the concept of family execution, was more moderate in inflicting such severe punishments. In many cases, the Han Emperor would retract the sentence, and so family executions were much rarer than under the Qin Dynasty.[13] During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the family punishment was not abolished, but it was only applied to those who plotted against the rule of the Emperor. By this time, the penalty had become more regulated and different; from the Tang Code, the sentence involved the death of parents, children over the age of sixteen, and other close kindred, and was only applied to the offenses of treason and rebellion.[1][14]

From the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) Dynasties onward, the extent to which those within the family were exterminated was increased. Under the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368 – 98), those committing rebellion and treason were punished by having their parents, grandparents, brethren (by birth, as well as "sworn brothers"), children, grandchildren, those living with the criminal regardless of surname, uncles and the children of brethren put to death, as well as death themselves by slow slicing or lingchi.[15][16] The number of sentences during the Ming were higher than that of the Tang,[17][18] due to the policy of "showing mercy beneath the sword" (Chinese: 刀下留情), while females were given the choice to become slaves rather than to be killed. A rare case was Fang Xiaoru (1357–1402), whose students and friends were also executed as the 10th family by the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402 — 1424), the only case where "ten exterminations" was officially sentenced and carried out. The punishment by family extermination during the Qing Dynasty was a direct imitation of the regulation under the Ming.[19]

The abolishment of the punishment by nine exterminations under the Qing occurred in 1905, where the punishment was officially repealed by the Qing government.

The punishment involved the execution of close and extended family members.[3][20] These included:

The criminal's living parents

The criminal's living grandparents

Any children the criminal may have, over a certain age (which is usually variable depending on the time period)

Any grandchildren the criminal may have, over a certain age (which is usually variable depending on the time period)

Siblings and siblings-in-law (the siblings of the criminal and that of his or her spouse, in the case where he or she is married)

Uncles of the criminal, as well as their spouses

The criminal himself

Confucian principles also play a major role in the outline of the punishment; regarding the killing of children, such an act is disapproved by Confucian ethics, under the Mencius "offspring is not a sinner" (Classical Chinese: 罪人不孥) principle, and so children under a certain age are often exempt from death.

There are different interpretations regarding the concept of group punishment in ancient times. Typically seen as an inhumane method of upholding rule, where innocent family members are killed for the crime of a relative, the punishment also acts as a deterrent against offenses such as treason, rather than as a punishment itself. As family members have the obligation to maintain the wellbeing of their family, such a punishment would prevent individuals from committing acts of treason. The punishment is also related to the ancient cultural tradition that the action of one shames the whole family, according to the works of Confucius and his disciples, so that in the case of an act of treason, by tradition the family bears the burden of punishment.

In Ancient times, there were nine different relations (or guanxi) in which an individual had with other people, which were referred to as the "family" or "tribe" (Chinese: 族) during that period.[21] These relations, under Confucian principles, were bonded by filial piety. Because members of a family remained strictly loyal to one another, they were considered responsible for crimes committed by any member due to guilt by association. It also provided the argument that the entire family would be responsible in supporting each other in the case of a rebellion against a ruler.

The Chinese character 族 can be translated by its original definition of "clan" or "tribe", or it can have the additional meanings of "kinship", "family" (as in 家族) or "ethnicity" (as in 民族).

^"Chilsuk's Rebellion (칠숙의 난)". Samguk Sagi (in Korean). Korea Culture & Content Agency. In May Summer, Chilsuk the Inchan officer plotted to rise in rebellion along with Seokpum the Achan officer. As the king (of Silla) knew this, he captured and beheaded Chilsuk at the Eastern Market and then annihilated his nine sets of relatives. (夏五月, 伊(阿)湌柒宿與阿湌石品謀叛, 王覺之, 捕捉柒宿, 斬之東市, 幷夷九族)

^BIOGRAPHY Nguyen Trai (1380–1442)"A close adviser of two successive kings, he was finally suspected to have plotted for regicide. His family was harmed by traitors to the court. He and entire family were executed."

^商鞅 为强秦奠基，为自己掘墓 "Shang Yang – The mighty lawmaker of Qin, digs his own grave" from Chinadaily "Shang Yang learned to read from a young age, and later created a series of reforms, his laws in excess of severity... However, the powerful state of Qin does not comply with the interests of all, bear the brunt of the old aristocracy. In the cancellation of privileges, they become the sworn enemy of Shang Yang."